Dan McGrath wrote:
"What Linda seems to have difficulty with is the absence of loyalty to a
political party. Party politics are a big part of our problems in government. Petty
games in partisan politics give us gridlock, and strange compromises in laws that
make no sense. The parties these days are far more interested in maintaining their
own power than actually accomplishing anything. Most politicians are more loyal to
their respective party than to the actual people they are supposed to be
representing in their particular political subdivision. Dave Shegstad simply isn't
interested in petty party politics. He's interested in representing PEOPLE, be they
Greens, DFL,Republican, Independence, or Libertarian. All residents of ward 9
deserve representation. I know it's sacrilege in this town, but the party machine
doesn't matter. What is important is what the people in the ward want. Who cares
what the deep thinkers at DFL or GOP headquarters want? This is a local race about
local issues, and real people who deserve to be heard. Shegstad has pledged to
listen to all voices, not just the ones with the
right party connections. Shegstad is trying to tell people that all parties are
welcome at his table"
Peter Vevang writes:
I read your post and did a 30 second Google search. I assume in your candidates bio (
http://www.shegstad.us/bio.html ) when he wrote he was a member of the Congressional
Committee-Business Advisory Council, he forgot to mention the words "National" and
"Republican". As far as I can see it is a project of the National Republican Campaign
Committee.
http://www.businessadvisorycouncil.org/
This page has the BAC affiliated groups, affiliates are like minded allies and
friends.
http://www.businessadvisorycouncil.org/bac_contents/affiliates/
One of their affiliates is STOMP, www.stomp4victory.org . It is their people
mobilization organization, presumably by 'stomping' on the opposition. They
had this tasty little morsel linked to inspire their troops.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?id=7443
"...We must remember at all times that Islam is a religion of "peace
and love" even though one of its core beliefs is that Islam must
dominate the world. If people do not accept this fate peacefully,
that is considered a direct attack on Islam and force then becomes
acceptable. The liberals in America don't understand this simple
Islamic formula..."
"...Americans should realize that there is no such thing as
"moderate Muslims." Sadly, they just don't seem to exist. Muslims
who witness the killing and say nothing are not moderate they are
guilty by association..."
"...Muslims believe it's only a matter of time now. All is going as
planned. Muslims believe that the Americans, predicable as always,
will be cowering soon enough before the power of Islam. The liberal
media, the leftist politicians, and the ACLU seem to have no idea
that they are all being played like a fiddle. In the liberal's
collective rush for power combined with their mutual hatred of Bush,
liberals don't seem to care..."
"...Let the liberals have fainting spells over the aggressiveness
that is absolutely needed in Iraqi right now. This is war, not a
political parlor game. People are dying every day. The liberals do
not understand the enemy. There are no rules. The enemy intends on
winning, not just Iraq but the world. The terrorists will kill every
man, woman, or child that gets in their way. There will be no
treaties, no negotiations, and no sitting down and having a chat. If
we do not kill them, they will kill us. That should be clear enough
for even a liberal to understand..."
This article is titled *"Time to Take off the Gloves and Put on the Brass
Knuckles*". This from the NRCC STOMP organization that is an affiliate of the
Business Advisory Council that Dave Shegstad said he belonged to. This follows the new
Republican talking points that there are 2 enemies, radical Islam and liberals. Please
correct me if Dave belongs to a different Business Advisory Council that is not Run by
the Republican Party and show me their web page.
I don't live in Ward 9, and so I don't have a direct position on Shegstad, but as a member of the DFL I have to take issue with your post, both in its method and its message. What you are doing is criticizing the DFL organization ad hominem, and are not addressing the issues directly. The truth about the DFL is that it is made up of individual people. We are all flawed human beings, I get disgusted when I hear about some of the silly shenanigans and roll my eyes sometimes just like everyone else I suspect. But for the most part, DFLers I know are good people who are doing the best they can. We do a good job, take responsibility for the people in our community and use common sense most of the time.
We have a lot of lively debates, but we have those debates because we care
about our city and our country. The DFL is not a faceless generic entity, we
are people. DFLers I know are not power mongers. We don't have machine
politics here like Texas. The reason I support the DFL is because we are more
effective at getting things done if we band together, and my values are DFL
values. The leadership of the DFL does mess up from time to time, they are
human, but these 'deep thinkers' helped to deliver an education system, a
safety net and progressive policies that make Minneapolis a great place to
live. Minneapolis is a Minnesota crown jewel. Yes there are problems and we
can do better, but I would put my DFL up against the Republicans, the
Independents, the Greens and any other group you want to throw my way. I think
when you look at the big picture, we get it right. I contrast that to your
candidate and his friends.
In general, I think that DFLers have their heart in the right place and they
work for the common good. The people of the DFL have respect and integrity.
You say the DFL doesn't respect the people. I stick with the DFL 'because' I
respect the people. And that makes my position the polar opposite of yours. I
do not think it is appropriate to sacrifice party solidarity to accommodate
individual politicians that may not share my values. My support and my loyalty
to my friends and allies is not like a poker chip, it is not negotiable like
that. Our DFL values are rock solid.
Your candidate claims to be the candidate of the people. I think he is
premature in that statement. Lets have the people be the judge who their
candidate will be.
Peter Vevang
DFLer in Audubon
p.s. The National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) is not to be confused
with the other NRCC, although they may have some things in common.
http://www.nrcc.utmb.edu/
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